A 40-year-old Texas man posed as a teenager, met with a Frederick County, Maryland, girl and sexually assaulted her, the sheriff’s office says.
Derek Truitt, of Austin, Texas, was arrested in Kansas earlier this month, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday. He was charged with three counts of second-degree rape. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
He also faces federal charges for alleged production of child pornography and for alleged interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The sheriff’s office received information last year on a sexual assault complaint by a girl, they said, without releasing her age.
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“Through the course of the investigation, detectives determined that Truitt, who posed as a teen, allegedly met with the complainant several times, and performed sexual acts,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Truitt was detained with help from the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement in Kansas and Texas, the sheriff’s office said.
It’s possible that there are other victims, said Lt. Andy Crone, FCSO Criminal Investigations Section commander.
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“Our case is still an open investigation, and we encourage anyone who feels there were victimized to come forward,” he said in his office’s statement.
Anyone with information on the case or who believes they were a victim is asked to contact Det. Rowe at 301-748-7898 or at jrowe@frederickcountymd.gov.
